if you want to stay in the best hotel for less than a deluxe these hotels are a steal. We loved taking the riverboat to downtown Disney/Disney Springs.
My wife and I stayed at Riverside almost 10 years ago for our honeymoon, and back then Boatwrights was open for breakfast. We shared a cinnamon french toast log that was so amazing we still talk about it. It's a shame that they're not open for breakfast anymore. We're taking our kids this coming June, and we'll be staying at the French Quarter this time. So excited!!
Congrats on your marriage! Disney is such a great place for a honeymoon, especially if you wear the groom and bride Mickey hats. We were given so many free things from the Cast Members like fastpasses and desserts. We also got to be extras in a few of the shows! You guys are really going to enjoy being there together.
i remember staying at french quarter when during a school trip and in my mind it was the coolest thing ever. theres so much art with so much color and vibrance and really good food that i got from counter service? definitely a vote for one of the best moderate resorts
We love Boatwrights Dining Hall and always book a reservation each time we go to Disney World! The shrimp n grits is the absolute BEST I've had anywhere! Plus the sweet cornbread is icing on the cake at this restaurant.
I stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter a few years back to celebrate my college graduation. I loved Sassagoula and was super impressed with the food, previously I had only stayed at the All Star Resorts so this food court was a huge step up!
Stayed at Riverside over Christmas. There was live music in the lobby and beautiful decorations. Walked over for beignets at French Quarter, yum yum. We need to remember to plan a resort day.
I love Port Orleans, I am obsessed with Beignets. I used to love a late breakfast at Boatwrights. I plan to go back soon. I can't wait to see Disney again. It has been too long.
Boatwrights was the first restaurant that we ate at on our first trip to Disney in 1995. As I recall it was good. Wish we could go back to that time. Times sure have changed.
This video is making me more excited for my Reservation for Port Orleans Riverside in November. I'll be walking between Riverside and French Quarter quite a bit.
My husband and I stayed at French Quarter for our honeymoon in 2014, we loved it! We looked forward to the food court for breakfast and the Cookie ice cream sandwiches!
We stayed at Riverside in September 2017 and the experience was awesome! The pool was great and the lifeguards are SO alert and there was so many of them! Also we had dinner at Boatwright’s (despite the bad reviews) and had an awesome experience as well, my shrimp and grits was delicious and I couldn’t get enough of that. Pro tip: don’t miss the carriage ride at night, it’s magical 🙂
I love these two resorts! My mother and I have stayed at Riverside twice and French Quarter once, such beautiful resorts. I can't wait to go back and stay in either of them again! I definitely agree that the food is great! We've gone to Boatwright's twice and my go to was the vegetarian jambalaya! SO GOOD! And that corn bread! 😋😍
We stayed at French Quarter in November 11 to 17th and they did have live music every night at Scat Cats. Most of those listening were an older crowd, but they did have music. We ate breakfast most mornings at Sassagoula's and it was pretty good, honestly the Mickey Waffles were my favorite, but it was never too crowded and very convenient to get to. We loved the atmosphere and the convenience of everything!
We stayed at Riverside 2 trips ago and ate at Boatrights and absolutely loved it. At the time they offered a delicious pork chop entree and we couldn’t stop talking bout it all night!
I love POR so much, its so beautiful and peaceful. I have always enjoyed their food and loved Boatwright's when we went. Being able to walk to French quarter is just a bonus, the walk is beautiful and their food was great. It's also great that they have boats to Disney Springs, the ride is peaceful and so much better than a bus. We go to Disney in a few days and I'm so sad we won't be staying at POR, we are taking the whole family so we had to stay at a suite resort but I am pretty positive that our next trip we will be back. We keep telling ourselves we will try another resort and then we always end up back here.
I've been lucky enough to stay at both on numerous occassions as it's my favourite Disney resort. I tend to stay at French Quarter more now as it is small (ish) and easy to negotiate and as I now have to use a walking aid I find it easier all round! I love, love, love French Quarter. Setting, rooms, pool, bars, food and especially the staff who are always super helpful. I'm a newbie when it comes to DFB but I'm loving all the videos and could listen to AJ all day as she has such a great accent, I'm an Essex/London girl and hate mine LOL!!
Boatwright's was the best meal of our 2010 trip and a pleasant surprise. While admittedly my review may be out of date as much may have changed in 8 years, but I will always fondly remember our meal at Boatwright's.
We had dinner last New Year's Eve at Boatwrights and loved it! I'm not sure why people feel negatively about it, but we thought that the food was delicious.
I live in Louisiana/New Orleans. I gotta say beignets aren’t as authentic as I thought but they were still good. Overall I would say not to bad for the sassigoula float works cafe.
I just saw this video for the first time, AJ! You do great, comprehensive work. We have stayed at both French Quarter and Riverside. Riverside was great for our family of five until my youngest daughter (now 15) became taller than her 5'4" sister. When the 15 year old was 2, we left her with the grandparents and stayed at French Quarter. Of all of the Disney resorts, this is the best vibe. The grounds are amazingly well thought out and you find something new every garden you go into. Except for the balconies right on the "street" with the wrought ironwork railings on the balconies (walkways) and the "yards" in front of the first floor accommodations, which definitely evoke the French Quarter in NOLA, one of my favorite places, the gem (especially for adults traveling without children) are the many gardens. These evoke the Garden District in NOLA, but without the kudzu and spanish moss.
Stayed at Riverside in the summer. We really liked the veggie pizza slice and make your own pasta option. Ate here a few times after long park days. It was often really, really busy, but the staff were super efficient and we always found a seat.
Absolutely loved Boatwright's. We cancelled two other reservations, one due to hurricane rains, the other because we all wanted to go back our last night.
What a VERY good vlog about Riverside. So accurate. I know I'm late on the comment but it's so good of a review I couldn't let it go with out a good word.
This by far is our favorite resort (PORS). We have never stayed at FR, but, we have walked between the two resorts and enjoyed many of the items mentioned in the video. We have stayed there 6 out of our last 8 trips and we are going again in June. We love it for many reasons. We have tried the biegnets and I was pleased to see you can get it as a sundae now. You can get either the 3 or the 6 size portion for a snack credit on the dining plan so if you want to ration your snacks and use one of them for this option, do it. Then you can take them back to your room and eat them for breakfast with coffee. Also the All that Jazz drink is a must drink. We loved it. But, my absolute favorite drink there is the ghost pepper margarita. It is a glass lined rimmed with ghost pepper and salt. There is also ghost pepper juice in it I believe. It has just enough heat to feel it, but, the margarita that follows is cooling and delicious. Can't wait to go back.
Hey DFB! We are headed back for our 3rd family stay at Port Orleans. This trip we'll be at Riverside only (although, we've stayed at French Quarter and had a mixed trip!) As a vegetarian, Boatwright's veggie options do nothing for me. But, other members of our travelling party love the prime rib and meat and seafood jambalaya. AND, we absolutely plan on going to French Quarter at least once for the beignet. If food is a big consideration in your resort choice, don't forget that POR has a water taxi to Disney Springs.
When we stayed at Riverside, I loved Boatwrights, the waitresses were really friendly, I had to pork chop (which was amaaaazing), and they treated my friend really well who has a milk allergy. Some Disney restaurants can have a tendency to focus so much on the allergy that I and my friend both noticed they sometimes don't treat you like a regular customers when you don't want to feel different to everyone else, but it wasn't like that at Boatwrights at all. They were lovely, and I can't wait to go again (even though we won't be staying anywhere near Riverside next time).
AJ my 4 year old daughter Berkley is in love with all of your videos and would love to meet you if you happen to be in Disney World in late September. Her first trip. Thanks for making the videos and giving us hours of things to watch in prep for our trip.
Enjoying the Disney Food Blog so much! We have a stay booked at POFQ in just 78 days. This will be my first stay at this resort. Was going to stay at my old stand-by CBR, but, all the re-imagining going on there made me decide against it.
In 2016 my family stayed Riverside, We ate at BoatWrights at that time. We all thought it was very good. We are going back to Port Orleans in January this time we are staying at French Quarter. Thanks for the information
Love Port Orleans! We had dinner at Boatwrights, where I had the stuffed catfish, which I really liked. Then we went to French quarter to get beignets! So good!
Just got back from WDW and a weeks stay at Riverside. Loved the Riverside mill the swamp burger was great! Also the beignets with the caramel sauce at French quarter were amazing! We has dinner one night at Boatwrights, after a long day at the Magic Kingdom we wanted something close by. The food was ok (out of all the table service restaurants we visited this unfortunately was our worst) and the service wasn't great which was disappointing as everywhere else was exceptional. Thank you for all of your tips and recommendations DFB they really came in handy!
My sister and I are planning on staying at the French quarter when we visit this summer because our favorite part of Disneyland is New Orleans square, and this just feels most like it. Beignets are a must any time we go to Disneyland, so I’m happy that FQ has them! Can’t say we won’t be getting them on a daily basis lol
AJ, I’m not sure what was wrong with the people who hated on Boatwrights before, but my wife & I LOVE Boatwrights! Along with the rest of our family. It may be one of our favorites on all of Disney property, & for me, as a lover of Cajun food, maybe my #1. Good call!
I prefer riverside. They have great breakfast options and some tasty sandwiches. Last year they had a turkey dinner that was so good! Hopefully it’s still there
This is our favorite Moderate Resort, especially Riverside and French Quarter - the landscaping and pathways make this a great "wander around" resort! The beignets are really delicious and taste authentic - lots of food choices throughout (agree the buns can be eh!), WDW should contract with Costanzo's Bakery in Buffalo, NY for best ever rolls!!
we haven't been to Disney since 94 ,except this pass feb we did a Disney cruise we got reservations for french quarter april of 19, and this is great info, ty, this helps a lot, looking for a great time.
I am a new subscriber and love your channel. Also, you don't sound Southern, but you pronounce pecan and praline the way the Lord intended. Keep up the amazing work!
We have stayed at both POR and POFQ but love POFQ the most! However, my husband said that he has to "throw a flag" for an omission that you made. He apparently thinks that you need a penalty for overlooking the steak that they serve at POFQ. We did TS and QS last time and he enjoyed his steak at Sassagoula Floatworks more than any other! We stayed there in March and will be back in December. I agree with the Jambalaya and beignets. SO GOOD! The atmosphere is so great at both resorts and I just can't wait to go back!
OK, AJ, first I just discovered your videos this weekend and can’t stop watching them. As a native New Orleanian I have one correction, a praline is butter, brown sugar and pâ-câns; a pee-can is something you keep under your bed in case of an emergency!😜⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️
Gata-melon juice is pronounced with that first “a” as a long “a” as is gator (short for alligator). Thus the New Orleans accented way to say gator where the “or” is replaced with the short “a” sound. Very lyrical and pretty to hear when visiting New Orleans or Disney’s Port Orleans. BTW- Love your videos and blog!
Great video! I’ll be staying there in February! I don’t mind the cafeteria @ Riverside. Great choice! Boatwrights is great if you’re staying there & are hungry for dinner & you don’t want to go / do much.
Back in late October of 2017 my family and I stayed at the Port Orleans Riverside and I thought it was very nice. But if you are going to bring smaller children I would say probably not the best choice because there isn’t a lot of character theme. The rooms are kind of basic and don’t have a lot of Disney characters around the room, unless you stay in the suites (I apologize I forgot what they are called). But don’t get me wrong, it is a very nice place to stay. The lobby is beautiful and the counter service food, The Riverside Mill, is AMAZING. They have so many different varieties of foods to pick from. And the desserts are also amazing. The boat rides were a little cold but I think it’s only because it was in late October and there was a little bit of a cold front, which sucked. Also, the souvenir shop next to the lobby is great and there is a lot of candy and basic necessity foods. (Bread, milk etc.) The pools were very nice but I didn’t go to them for too long so I can’t say much about that. So overall, I say that this resort is very, very nice but like I said, there isn’t a lot of character feel and theme.
We just stayed at French Quarter (& uploaded a video) and defnitely enjoyed the vegan beignets - though they didn't have the fluffy texture we were expecting since the vegan batter is also a gluten free allergy blend, but the beyond meat vegan burger on the menu at the grill was SO GOOD that we ate it twice!
I stayed at Riverside for two weeks in August, I loved all of the dinner options (especially the flatbreads and the make your own pasta) but found the breakfast options disappointing. After about 4 or 5 days of stodgy cooked breakfasts we started using up snack credits for cream cheese bagels and fruit as what was on offer was largely too greasy to stomach.
Port Orleans Riverside is my family’s go to Moderate Resort. We stay there every third or forth trip. I have to say that Boatwright’s is OK but it’s definitely not as good as what one would get at even a lackluster New Orleans restaurant. We have eaten there on non Park or rest days. The beignets and Quick Service at Sassagoula Floatworks are very good. I would go as far to say that the Quick Service is IMHO one of the best on WDW property. We rarely eat there however as we enjoy pretty much Table Service restaurants exclusively. Thanks for sharing and MERRY CHRISTMAS 🎄 and HAPPY NEW YEAR 🎊!!!!
The sit down at port Orleans closed when they turned Dixie landings into port Orleans riverside ( 😭😭) can still see it next to scat cats. Great money saving idea disney.
i went to french quarter for my honeymoon last oct and, while we loved the resort, we weren't all that impressed by the food. we got the jambalaya and the beignets and they were just ok. the jambalaya was dry and the beignets tasted like typical fair fried dough. we found better food at the parks and some of the other resorts.
Great job as usual AJ. Not a big fan of Riverside, although the food court is pretty decent. Much prefer POFQ, and I love the mufuletta - and - of course - the beignets! Still remember when Bonfamille (the sit down restaurant that used to be there before they combined with Dixie Landings) would serve the DELICIOUS black skillet breakfasts (IN a black skillet!), with a basket of beignets for the table instead of rolls or bread - YUMMMMMMM!!! AJ - I hope you, Joey, Adam, and all other staff at DFB have a happy, healthy, magical New Year. Looking forward to my year being great by being able to get more of your always awesome content!! BIG HUGS!!!
